Sandia National Labs develops camera placement tool to aid Albuquerque police crime-fighting

Sandia National Laboratories teamed up with the Albuquerque Police Department to determine where to add cameras so authorities can more effectively capture and track crime.

“Our goal is to assist... APD in addressing some of their data challenges, such as recommending locations for new cameras based on crime data,” Sandia Data Engineer Rudy Garcia said at Thursday’s news conference at APD headquarters.

APD spokesperson Rebecca Atkins said Sandia conducted a statistical analysis of crime patterns in the city and created a model to pinpoint the best locations for new cameras. The model shows where a camera should be placed and at what height and direction “to most effectively capture a crime on camera,” she said.

When and how many new cameras will be installed is unknown, Atkins said. APD Deputy Chief J.J. Griego said the cameras will be placed “where we know they’re going to be effective.”

The area that was studied first was the Central Avenue corridor, where APD sees a high concentration of criminal activity, Atkins said. The city is now analyzing camera placements at Coronado and Cottonwood malls, she said. The city’s Department of Technology and Innovation will ensure that infrastructure is in place to put up the cameras and ensure the current 13,000 cameras are operating effectively, Atkins said.

The city has the capability to install as many cameras as it needs and to connect them to the Real Time Crime Center, which will save the city time and resources, Department of Technology and Information Director Mark Leech said. “We’ll keep compiling the necessary data and deploying cameras based on the models provided by satellite,” he said.

“As you know, we’ve invested in thousands of cameras all over the city, and it sounds simple: APD is going to put up cameras. It is not,” Mayor Tim Keller said. “There’s an IT component that’s very important to make sure that this actually has a quality video feed that we need... And most importantly, they have to function in the most optimal way... At the end of the day, you want to have the least amount of cameras that cover the most amount of the area to keep people safe because you don’t want to waste money on extra cameras.”

The project is only the most recent collaboration between Sandia and local governments. Since 2019, the city has worked with Sandia on projects to improve data management systems and to help the district attorney’s office with clarifying people’s names.